Get bored with her? She was out of her fucking mind. Didn’t mesh beyond the bedroom? Then she hadn’t been paying attention last night. Or every other moment we’d gotten lost in each other. But she wasn’t ready to hear my protests. She didn’t believe I could stay. That I would stay. That was the real obstacle here. Not the truth. But her perception of the truth. And sometimes, that’s all that mattered.

Time to lighten things up and move away from this. I was a patient man. I would prove her wrong. Actions speak louder than words, after all. “But we actually haven’t even made it to the bedroom.” I arched a brow at her and grinned.

She smiled back. “True. But whose fault is that?”

“Entirely yours. You’re just too irresistible for me. Beguiling me with your witchy ways.”

She laughed. “Right. That’s me. The seductress.”

“You have no idea.” I reached over and took her hand, standing and tugging her with me.

Archie hopped down and promptly trotted toward the kitchen with a clickety-clack of his toenails on the wood floor. Probably going to eat from his bowl that I’d had to refill at least twelve times since he’d moved in.

“Come on, love. Let’s get out of the house. I want to take you somewhere.”

She looked toward the kitchen. “Do you need to kennel Archie? Is he house-trained?”

“Come here.” I pulled her into the kitchen and pointed to the back door that now had a newly installed doggie door leading to the gated courtyard that also had a moderately large square of grass. “He can take care of business on his own.”

“Well, you’ve been busy.” She aimed a bright smile my way, steamrolling over my will to keep her at arm’s length.

I pulled her in for a kiss, which started sweet and turned serious in three seconds. I slipped my hand beneath her fall of hair and squeezed her nape, then skated my mouth down her neck to lick and kiss the mark on her neck she’d tried to cover with her hair. She moaned, clenching a hand in my T-shirt, arching her spine and bending her body toward me.

“Like I said,” I told her lightly, pulling her through the door toward the garage. “I’m much more responsible than you think I am.”

“I never said you weren’t responsible.”

“Just shallow and materialistic,” I teased.

“I didn’t say that either! Jeesh, I had no idea how sensitive you were. Wait, where are we going?”

I now had the door open to my Lamborghini. “We’re going somewhere in my million-dollar car.”

“I don’t like cars.”

“I’m well aware. Did you know that the Diablo has a 43/57 percent front/rear weight distribution, making it aerodynamically safe on the road? It also has Brembo servo-assisted four-wheel disc brakes, adding to its safety as well. I can stop on a dime.”

“What’s Brembo brakes?”

I chewed the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. “Brembo is an Italian manufacturer of automotive brakes, specifically for high-performance cars. Best of the best, love.”

“Are you throwing stats at me to try to impress me?”

Fucking right, I was. “Am I impressing you?” I held the door open for her.

“Kinda.”

“Please get in so I can take us very safely and responsibly to our destination.”

She eyed me and then my car, as if it truly was a demon, sighed heavily, then flounced inside, putting her bag on the floor.

I closed the door and whispered, “Gotcha.”

Time to show her that even she could break out of the safe and somewhat stifling box she’d built for herself.

Chapter 28

~ISADORA~

“So what were you and Ruben talking about the other day outside the bookstore?” I asked, just needing some random topic of conversation.

He turned into a mostly empty parking lot near Loyola. “Just making sure we’ve got everything set for Saturday night. Is your sister Livvy willing to be your partner in crime?” He downshifted, the car purring as we slowed.

“More than willing. Livvy is always up for adventure.”

He wheeled to the back of the lot where there were only two or three cars parked.

“What’s wrong? You seem tense.”

Devraj shook his head, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Just the reading Violet did. I want to be ready for anything.”

“I’m sure your Vampire Justice League can handle anything unexpected.”

“Oh, we can. Vampire Justice League? Is that an Avengers thing or something?”

I laughed, thinking of Evie. She’d like the label. “I don’t think so, but it should be. I don’t know what you call your little party of vampire cops.”

He eyed me like I was crazy then said, “Get out of the car, Isadora.”

I unbuckled and met him around front. I glanced around, wondering where he was taking me. This was just an empty parking lot for students near the university. He took my hand and led me around to the driver’s side.

“What are you doing?”

He opened the car door. “Teaching you how to drive.” He gave a little shove to the small of my back.

“What?!” I backed up into a hard wall of Devraj. “No, no, no, no.”

He laughed, spinning me by my waist and pressing my back to the side of the car. He cupped my face, pinning me with his pelvis and his gorgeous eyes.

“Do you trust me, Isadora?”

I gripped his wrists. “Not if you’re trying to teach me to drive, I don’t.”

He kicked the inside of one ankle, spreading my legs and settled against me, possessing my mouth with dizzying speed. I pressed my blunt nails into his wrists in defiance of this crazy-ass idea. Still, I kissed him back, my appetite for him as voracious as ever. When our kiss mounted to that frenzied state, his tongue piercing making me want his tongue in other places, he pulled away and pressed his forehead to mine, still holding my face, his gaze so warm, so steady, so sure.

“You trust me with your body.” He pressed his closer to mine, rubbing against me, as if I needed a reminder. “And with your blood.” His gaze flicked down to my neck. “Now trust me with your fear. I can help you with this.”

“You think me wrecking your million-dollar car is going to help me get over a lifelong phobia? You’re nuts, vampire.”

He nipped my bottom lip with a fang, not breaking the skin, but stinging all the same. “Isadora.” He licked the sting, rocking his hard body into mine, dragging a whimper from my throat. “Trust me.”

I was breathing heavily, panic running amok. “I can’t do this.”

“You can.”

“I might wreck your car.”

“It’s insured.”

“I’m scared.”

“I’m here for you.”

I half-laughed, half-whined at that. “You’re insane.”

“I want you to trust me. I’d never let any harm come to you. You’ll be safe.”

His crooning words vibrated straight through my ribcage and encircled my heart. I did trust him. I did feel safe with him. I knew he’d never let harm come to me. All of these things sung in my soul like magic, pulsing with his sweet promises. As sweet as the ones he’d made with his body, his hands, his mouth, his tongue.

Why did this feel so monumental? Trusting him enough to teach me to drive? It was a trivial, minor thing. To most people. To me, it was an irrational fear that had morphed into my way of life, settling me into a world where I avoided cars and preferred to shop as far as my bicycle would take me. And he was asking me to just, what, jump off the cliff with him and drive his freaking Lamborghini?

“Trust me,” he cooed against my lips, sipping softly now, tracing my jawline with his thumbs in soothing sweeps. “You can do this, Isadora.”

My heart tried to pound through its cage of flesh and bones. I squeezed my eyes shut and said, “I can do this,” just trying the words on for size. My pulse immediately slowed.

“You can do this,” he repeated with supreme confidence. And affection.

I opened my eyes and inhaled a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll try.”

The smile he gave me was galactic in its brilliance. “Good girl.”

One more soft kiss then he ushered me into the driver’s seat. I sat there stiffly, trapping my hands between my thighs, staring at the insanely complex console. When he lowered into the passenger’s seat, he reached over and buckled my seatbelt. Probably because I hadn’t moved yet, stiff as a robot.

“Alright, first step,” he said, obvious amusement in his voice, “put your hands on the steering wheel.”

I whipped my head toward him and warned, “No. Laughing.”

His expression sobered with wide eyes. “Never.”

But there was still a twinkle in his eye. I arched a brow at him before returning my focus on the car, gently placing my hands on the wheel. “I’m not driving outside this parking lot.”

“Absolutely not. Baby steps. Today, we’re practicing right here, nowhere else.”

Blowing out a heavy breath, I nodded. “Okay. Now what?”

“Press your left foot down on the clutch, your right on the brake.”

I did. “Okay.”

“Now, start the engine. And put your hand on the stick.”

I arched a brow at him. “Is that code for something?”

“My, oh my, Miss Savoie. What a dirty mind you have. Get your head out of the gutter and focus. And wrap your hand around my stick.”

He taunted me with a hot look and a waggle of his eyebrows. I couldn’t keep myself from laughing. And just like that, some of the tension eased from my shoulders.

“We should be starting with an automatic,” I said, grabbing hold of the gear shift.

“Where’s the fun in that?” He leaned an arm along my headrest but kept some distance so I didn’t feel crowded. Just close enough to feel comforted. “So, because this is a rather luxurious, high-performance car and expensive, as you’ve reminded me on a number of occasions, it has a very smooth transition from gear to gear. All you need to do is ease up slowly on the clutch as you press the acceleration pedal at the same time. Go as slow as you need and take your time.”